I’m seeing Service Contract for $2,995, Maintenance for $1,020, and Road Hazard for $1,479. Are any of these even worthwhile?

The 54k sales price is nuts. Guessing she got various insurance (tire and wheel gap etc) add ons? Paint protection products maybe? What does her financing paperwork show?

Thanks for your answer!

Thanks for answering.

So am I fair in assuming she could have gotten a more competitive price (not necessarily MSRP, but at least close to it)?

She actually drives quite a lot. Still pretty active. My assumption is that the newer electronics in the car are throwing her off (specifically the non-mechanic key). Perhaps I can help her learn about them.

why? campuses are usually beautiful, walkable and mostly self sufficient. even better if it is close to downtown.

Thanks, this helps. I guess I should say I don’t have experience with loans in general, but I do remember learning about this in school a long time ago, so this was a good reminder of how it all works.

My last three years of college not-in-a-dorm were memorable. I often think of them and absolutely loved them. Do what you want to do, don't be manipulated through money. You'll buy your own car someday.

Thanks for your answer!

Definitely not expecting to get what was paid for it. Just minimizing losses.

Understood regarding the interest calculation being yearly and based on the principal decreasing.

Yeah, pretty sure my aunt didn’t read into what she was buying closely enough. Wish she had.

Your aunt got ripped off because she’s 70 years old and elderly people are easy targets. Get rid of the car, buy something older and cheaper. No shot she’s gonna be driving enough over the next 7+ years to justify a brand new car, and clearly she doesn’t have the love of cars or financial means to justify it.

Interest is applied daily, it's not simply Sale price X interest rate so that's why the total cost is not what you expect. As far as getting rid of it you can see if your state has a cool down period or if the dealer has their own. If not then you can see what the dealer can do for you in terms of a buyback/trade-in but private sale will probably net you the most

>Many states have a 10-15 day cool down period that lets buyers return cars and essentially cancel the deal

People need to stop posting this garbage. There are very few or no states that have a cooling off period for a vehicle.

Thanks for your answer!

1. It looks like she bought it Oct 28, 2022, so it seems we’re past the cooldown. I know she tried going back to the dealership and the refused to take it back. This is in NY state.

2. Thanks, I see how it calculated now. And I do see the monthly payment amount and number of payments.

3. So this is a normal price to pay? Or is my aunt just bad at negotiating?

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>Basically, how do these numbers fit together?

6.94% APR means that every month, 0.58% (6.94% / 12 months) of her current balance gets added to how much she owes. Those numbers come from assuming she keeps that going while making only the minimum required payments.

>I don't have much experience with car loans

This is how nearly all debt works, from credit cards to mortgages.

> Many states have a 10-15 day cool down period that lets buyers return cars and essentially cancel the deal

That is not really true. If you happen to have a link to a source that says otherwise, I would definitely be interested in seeing it.

Any option you have results in paying off the loan. Whether that is by trade, private party sale, or payoff. Given the market trend, you probably won't get what was paid for it.

Your interest calculation. It's just wrong. The 6.94 rate is per year. On a monthly basis you have around .55% of the load balance added to the remaining principal to find the interest accrued.

You end up paying that much in dealer markup (pure profit over MSRP), add on packages, service contracts, plus fees as you mention. You get to this point by not knowing what was being signed and being sold a bunch of things they probably didn't need.

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Try it for one year and see how it goes.

Hm this is extremely variable. Are they friends from high school as OP starts their freshman year? OR is OP going into their sophomore year and living with good friends they met in college?

If it’s college friends then I’d say it’s not a bad idea. I lived with my best friends I’d met in college and we’re all still best friends 10 years later.

Dorms are great and necessary freshman year to find your people, but after an apartment is MUCH better in terms of the overall college experience. But a free car is a damn good deal. Idk though, I wouldn’t change a thing about how I did it. Some of the best memories I’ll ever have were made in that shitty college apartment.

Live in the dorms, go visit your buddies and sleep on the couch when it's party time, get the car. Easy choice.

And that's just with the stuff you've laid out, but you missed a few things:

• the dorm almost certainly includes a meal plan or the option to add one. In an apartment you will have to get, pay, and cook your own food. That means going to the grocery store (do you have a car?), cooking, dishes, fighting for fridge-space with roommates. This is a significant cost and time-stuck. And let's be honest, you're going to spend a lot more on takeout/delivery if you have to cook for yourself, so there's another added cost.

• student housing qualifies for student aid. What is your loan/scholarship situation like now?

• academics. Students who live on campus tend to perform better academically. You can certainly buck that trend in either direction, but the reality is its easier to succeed at school when you're in student housing rather than a party house.

If dorms work for you take dorms. If they do not, consider something else. Personally I liked dorm living...everything taken care of including meals... and I had good roomates though different every year. Plus I am a good sleeper, and could focus too regardless of what else was going on. So they really worked for me. Also avoided drama of dealing with immature off campus roommates.

I have lived in the dorms and also off campus. For me the decision was mostly financial. The dorms were a lot more expensive than living off campus. Also, there are are things like the setup of the dorms. Have you toured the place? In my case there were 3 people per room - one bunk bed and one single...which was horrible, shared bathroom with the suite next door - another 3 people. No privacy or quiet space. Also my school forced you to buy a meal plan with the dorm which was more money than buying food yourself. Once we rented a place off campus everyone had their own room and it was cheaper too. I would ask, isn't there another off campus rental (house or apartment) available that is cheaper. We would just find something on craigslist and pay month to month per room.

I will never be able to hit the maximum lifetime. I also don’t anticipate going beyond the yearly gift tax threshold given my low salary at the moment

If you want your parents to have 100% control of the money, ask them to set up a brokerage account you can send funds to.

If you want some control over it, you can set up a trust. It really depends on how much money you are talking about and what the goal is.

Edit: also, you have to file if you go over the annual maximum (x 2 if you gift each parent). Current maximum lifetime gifts before taxes is $12 million.

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